Animal Angel

In memory of a loving cat.

Where you’ll go

and what you’ll be.

I do not know;

I cannot see.

But still I feel

within my heart

that no end comes

without a start.

All that flows in

must flow out,

continues flowing

in its route.

You flowed by

just like a stream--

a summer rain,

a quiet dream.

The time has past

and you’ve flowed free.

Whi'ther you go,

I know… you’ll be.

Author's Note

All feedback welcome.

Reviews

[:o]

The 'w' alliteration is nice throughout. You've used the words flow and flowing numerous times and I'm wondering if that has significance to the cat. Repetition in poetry is usually for a reason.

My only nit pick would be the change in rhythm at "but I feel..."

I'm sorry for the passing of your little friend. Nicely done poem.

[Jonathan Lee]

Interesting observation. It's actually the same number of syllables as "Where you'll go" and "You flowed by." However, I think it comes down to "flowed" and "you'll" being longer more complex single syllable sounds than simply "I." So on second thought, I think if I change it to "But now I feel" it would sound better.

I originally wrote this for my wife (then girlfriend) when her cat died years ago. I had an earlier revision of this poem appear in a little retrospective video I put together set to the Inner Light theme (from ST:TNG). Originally the poem was overlaid on some footage of birds flying over a kind of river (from Baraka, iirc). So pertaining to "flow" I was thinking about different musings on the nature of consciousness and experience--specifically the possibility of a kind of reincarnation for animal life and Alan Watts' observation that "nature abhors a vacuum." So I thought of a river of life flowing into one form and then back out again--thus flowing "free" of its corporeal form, to go out and perhaps pool somewhere else in another form or have some kind of subtle intangible influence on the world.

Thanks for the feedback :)

[:o]

Wow, that's a eye opening reply and very interesting. You're welcome.